Licences required for a restaurant in India: the 2026 list

Most lists online show 12 or 14 licences. A small restaurant, cafe or cloud kitchen usually needs five, and a few more only if it serves alcohol, plays recorded music or has a large dining hall.

• FSSAI registration or licenceEvery food business. Issued online on FoSCoS. Which one depends on your yearly turnover.
• GST registrationCompulsory once sales cross ₹20 lakh a year (₹10 lakh in four north-eastern states). Optional below that.
• Shops and Establishments registrationYour state's labour department registers the business and its staff. Each state has its own Act and deadline.
• Trade or health trade licenceFrom your municipal corporation or council. It covers the premises, hygiene and the kind of trade.
• Fire NOCFrom the state fire service, where its rules cover your seating or floor area. Ask before you sign the lease.

Only if they apply: a liquor licence from the state excise department, a music licence for recorded music, and permission for a large signboard from the municipal body.

FSSAI changed its turnover limits from 1 April 2026. A restaurant with yearly turnover up to ₹1.5 crore needs only FSSAI registration, at ₹100 a year. Above ₹1.5 crore and up to ₹50 crore it needs a State licence (₹5,000 a year), and above ₹50 crore a Central licence (₹7,500 a year).

Many licence pages still show the old ₹12 lakh and ₹20 crore limits, so check the date on anything you read. Each outlet needs its own registration or licence for its own premises. The FSSAI licence guide has the documents, the FoSCoS steps and worked examples.

Under Section 22 of the CGST Act, a business must register for GST once its aggregate turnover in a financial year crosses ₹20 lakh. In Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura the limit is ₹10 lakh. The higher ₹40 lakh limit you may have heard of is only for businesses that sell goods alone; a restaurant supplies a service, so it does not apply.

Example: Swaad Kitchen sells about ₹6,000 a day and is open 330 days a year. That is about ₹19.8 lakh, just under the limit. One good festival season takes it past ₹20 lakh, so the owner registers early rather than chasing the date later.

Once registered, a standalone restaurant charges 5% GST without input tax credit, and its bills must show the GSTIN. The restaurant GST bill format marks every field a bill needs. If you cook only for delivery, the cloud kitchen GST guide explains who pays the GST on app orders.

These come from your state and your city, so the names, fees and forms change from place to place. What stays the same is what each one is for.

• Shops and Establishments registration records the business, its working hours and its staff with the state labour department.
• Trade licence (called a health trade licence in some cities) is issued by the municipal body for the premises. It covers the premises and the kind of trade you run there.
• Fire NOC rules are set by each state's fire service. They usually turn on the number of seats or the floor area.

All three ask about the premises, so check that the building may be used for a restaurant before you sign a long lease.

Delhi restaurants used to need an Eating House Registration from Delhi Police on top of everything else. On 19 June 2025 the Lt. Governor withdrew the Police Commissioner's power to make those regulations, and the Commissioner repealed them by a gazette notification dated 28 June 2025.

Delhi's excise department confirmed it in an order: people applying for or renewing restaurant and hotel liquor licences no longer have to submit the police Eating House Registration. Some agent pages still sell the police registration, so ask for the current rule before you pay anyone.

The police step has gone, but the municipal health trade licence is a separate licence. Check with MCD or NDMC, whichever covers your area.

Liquor. Serving beer, wine or spirits needs a licence from your state's excise department. Each state has its own licence types and fees, and the application asks about your premises and your other licences, so apply for it after the rest.

Recorded music. Under Section 14 of the Copyright Act, 1957, communicating a sound recording to the public is a right of its owner. Playing recorded songs to guests in a restaurant is a public use, so you need a licence from the music labels or the body that collects for them. Ask for the licence in writing and keep the receipt.

• 1. PremisesRent agreement or ownership proof, and the landlord's consent for a restaurant.
• 2. Shop registration and trade licenceBoth ask for the premises papers. Apply in the same week.
• 3. FSSAIApply online on FoSCoS. Your number goes on every bill.
• 4. GSTBefore you cross ₹20 lakh, or from day one if you want it.
• 5. Fire NOCBefore you open, if your state's rule covers you.
• 6. Liquor and musicLast, once the others are in hand.

Since 1 January 2022 food businesses must print their FSSAI number on bills, and a GST-registered restaurant must show its GSTIN. POSBADA restaurant billing prints both on every GST bill and gives you a daily sales report, so you always know how close you are to the GST and FSSAI limits. Once you are open, list your restaurant on Google so people nearby can find you.